Review of Maple Leaf 54

Basic specs.

The Maple Leaf 54 is a large sailboat designed by the Canadian maritime architect Stanley Charles Huntingford in the late seventies. The Maple Leaf 54 is built by the Canadian yard Cooper Yachts Ltd..

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Keel

Full keel

The Maple Leaf 54 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.13 - 2.23 meter (6.99 - 7.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Ford Lehman diesel engine at 120 hp (89 kW). Calculated max speed is about 8.5 knots

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Maple Leaf 54 is 1.72, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 9.0 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Maple Leaf 54 is about 420 kg/cm, alternatively 2354 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 420 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2354 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Maple Leaf 54 is 3.64.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Maple Leaf 54 is 29%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 15% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Maple Leaf 54 is 202 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

58% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Maple Leaf 54 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 14.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 17.9.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 2% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 69m² (742 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	39.6 m	(130.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	39.6 m	(130.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	39.6 m	(130.1 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	16.5 m	(54.3 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	16.5 m	(54.3 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	41.3 m	(135.7 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	36.4 m	(119.4 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	5.5 m	(18.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	11.0 m	(36.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	11.0 m	(36.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Maple Leaf 54 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.